Enterprise (computer)
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Developer | Intelligent Software |
---|---|
Type | Home computer |
Release date | 23 June 1985 |
Units shipped | 80,000 |
Operating system | EXOS, BASIC (on cartridge) |
CPU | Zilog Z80A @ 4 MHz |
Memory | 64 KB / 128 KB (65,536 / 131,072 bytes) |
Display | 80 × 256, 256 colours; 320 × 256, 16 colours; 640 × 512 interlaced, 640 × 256 non-interlaced, 2 colours |
Graphics | "Nick" ASIC |
Sound | "Dave" ASIC (3 channels + noise) |
Connectivity | RGB out, serial port, printer port, joystick ports, cassette tape interfaces, cartridge slot, expansion port |
The Enterprise is a Zilog Z80-based home computer announced in 1983,[1] but due to a series of delays, was not commercially available until 1985.[2] It was developed by British company Intelligent Software and marketed by Enterprise Computers.
The specification as released was powerful and one of the higher end in its class (though not by the margin envisaged in 1983). This was due to the use of custom
The machine was renamed several times during development, being known variously as Samurai, Oscar and Elan. Versions can sometimes been found in magazine articles referred to by the preceding monikers.[3] Ultimately, not assisted by release delays and a changing market place, the Enterprise was not commercially successful. The manufacturer called in the receivers in 1986 with significant debt, although old stock continued to be sold through a German partner until well into the 1990s.[2]
Hardware
CPU, memory and ASIC chips
The Enterprise has a 4
Two application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips take some of the workload off of the central processor. They are named "Nick" and "Dave" after their designers, Nick Toop, who had previously worked on the Acorn Atom, and Dave Woodfield. "Nick" manages graphics, while "Dave" handles sound and memory paging (bank switching).[3]
A
Keyboard and case
The case is unusual in that it contains both a full-sized keyboard with programmable
Royal College of Art graduates Geoff Hollington and Nick Oakley were responsible for the design, having tendered for this particular contract, and had only seven days to produce the visual design concept. Tooling for production of the casing was also demanded in a rapid timeframe and took five months. Originally, a combination of greys was envisaged for the casing elements, but seeking to avoid the look of office equipment and to appeal to "the lower end of the market", the eventual dark grey case with red, green and blue keys was chosen.[7]
Graphics
Enterprise has four hardware graphics modes: 40-column text modes, Lo-Res and Hi-Res
Multiple pages can be displayed simultaneously on the screen, even if their graphics modes are different. Each page has its own palette, which allows more colours to be displayed onscreen simultaneously. The page height can be larger than the screen or the window it is displayed on. Each page is connected to a channel of the EXOS operating system, so it is possible to write on a hidden page.
Sound
The sound is handled by the second
The Enterprise
Interfaces
The Enterprise included an array of connectors far beyond what was common on home computers of the time. There is an
The BASIC ROM can be replaced by a ROM that emulates a ZX Spectrum 48K, which allows the Enterprise to run the catalogue of thousands of Spectrum BASIC games and any other titles that don't access hardware directly; a hardware peripheral was available to provide more complete emulation for other Spectrum titles — catching Spectrum hardware accesses and issuing an interrupt so that emulation software can deal with them.
An external
Software
System ROM
EXOS (Enterprise Expandable Operating System) is contained in the system ROM, and is based on "channels". All
IS-Basic
Enterprise does not include BASIC or any other programming language in its internal ROM, unlike most other home computers of the time. Its BASIC interpreter was supplied on a 16k ROM cartridge, and the language can be changed by switching the cartridge, a system similar to that of Acorn's BBC Micro.
IS-Basic adheres to the
IF...THEN...ELSE
, SELECT...CASE
, DO...LOOP
with WHILE
and UNTIL
conditions. The WHILE
condition being at the begin and the UNTIL
condition being at the end of the do-loop, and the ability to escape a loop with the EXIT LOOP
statement. Procedures and functions can have both reference and value parameters, and local variablesIS-Basic has the unique ability to hold multiple programs simultaneously in memory. Each program has a separate set of global variables and line numbers, but the CHAIN statement makes it possible to call one program from another and pass parameters between them. Peripherals can be controlled directly from BASIC, so there is rarely a need to use POKE
and PEEK
statements.
IS-Basic has the usual commands for drawing dots, lines, circles and ellipses and for filling areas, and supports Logo-style turtle graphics. Sound commands can be entered into a queue, and executed in the background while the program execution continues.
The basic was also noted as being long-winded, an example being the command to clear the screen was commonly abbreviated to CLS
, on the enterprise the command was CLEAR SCREEN
with no abbreviation possible.[2]
Other software
Several languages besides IS-BASIC, including Forth, Lisp, Pascal and assembly, were available on either ROM cartridge or tape. Basic-to-Basic converters could convert BASIC programs written for other home computers. Some 40 games, from IS and other publishers, were listed in the catalog.[10] IS-DOS, the CP/M compatible operating system, opened access to the wide range of CP/M programs available at that time.
History
After the 1982 introduction of the
The market for home computers had matured during the delays to release. There had been a downturn in the market for home computers, owing to market saturation. Large retailers proved reluctant to stock the machine, and smaller retailers were wary of stocking a machine not supported through the major retail channels. The hardware was still powerful for a home computer of the era, but there was a limited software catalogue and the price was higher than the competition. For example, the Amstrad CPC 464 included a monitor and cassette recorder, was released before the Enterprise, and retailed for less.[2] After the initial manufacturing run of 80,000 units, it is believed that no further units were made, so the Enterprise is among the rarer home computers of the 1980s.
The Enterprise had only minor success in the UK, selling no more that 25,000 units in this region, but did go on to have more impact in other countries. Enterprise Computers UK and Intelligent Software collapsed by 1986 but a German subsidiary survived until 1997 and shipped remaining stock to various countries including Egypt, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic but most notably to Hungary.[13] The Hungarian company Videoton had produced a simplified version of the Enterprise called the TVC under license that was mainly sold into Hungarian education. Hungary was then part of the Eastern Bloc which was subject to export controls and the TVC lacked the specialist Nick and Dave chips. Unsold Enterprise 128 stock though was imported into Hungary in 1987 (despite controls) and the machine became popular in the country, remaining on sale until around 1992.[12][14] A dedicated cult following for the machine still exists in Hungary.[15][16]
Video games
Most of the video games for the system are hobbyist ports from ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. There are only 96 commercially released video games.[17]
Title | Publisher | Release year |
---|---|---|
Abyss, The | Artificial Intelligence | 1985 |
Adventure Quest | Level 9 Computing | 1984 |
Airwolf | Elite Systems | 1985 |
Alternative World Games | Novotrade | 1990 |
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral | Bourne Educational | 1985 |
Áttörés | Novotrade | |
Batman | Ocean Software | 1986 |
Beach Head | Dream Software | 1985 |
Beatcha | Romik Software | 1984 |
Bruce Lee | Ocean Software | 1984 |
Bulldozer | Wave-8 | |
Caesar a cica | Novotrade | 1989 |
Castle of Dreams | Widget Software | 1985 |
Cauldron | Entersoft | 1986 |
Centrum Ball | Novotrade | 1987 |
Chains | Artificial Intelligence | 1985 |
Colossal Adventure | Level 9 Computing | 1985 |
Cross Road Race | a Studio | 1988 |
Csavargás a gombák birodalmában | Octasoft | |
Cyrus Chess II | Intelligent Chess Software Ltd. | 1985 |
Devil's Lair | Loriciels | 1985 |
Diamonds | Infosoft | 1989 |
Dictator | Entersoft | 1984 |
Digipók | Novotrade | 1987 |
Dot breaker, Dot collector | Enterprise Computers | 1987 |
Dungeon Adventure | Level 9 Computing | 1984 |
Eat it up | Nielsen | 1989 |
Eden Blues | Novosoft | 1986 |
Eggs of Death | Novotrade | 1985 |
Emerald Isle | Level 9 Computing | 1985 |
Enterball | a Studio | 1988 |
Enter-Stack | a Studio | 1987 |
Fantasia Diamond | Hewson Consultants | 1985 |
Fantomas | a Studio | 1987 |
Fire | a Studio | 1988 |
Five in a Row | Entersoft | 1984 |
Games Pack 1 (Eddie the Exterminator, Windsurfer) | Entersoft | 1984 |
Games Pack 2 (Bomb Squad, Death Diver) | Entersoft | 1984 |
Games Pack 3 (Galaxians, Space Orbs) | Boxsoft | 1986 |
Get Dexter | Infogrames | 1985 |
Grid Trouble | Enterprise Computers | 1987 |
Happy Letters | Bourne Educational | 1985 |
Happy Numbers | Bourne Educational | 1985 |
Heathrow ATC | Hewson Consultants | 1984 |
Hopeless Game | F.T. Studio | |
Hubert | Novotrade | |
Hungaroring Forma 1 | Novotrade | 1987 |
Impossible Mission 2 | Novotrade | 1988 |
Jack's House of Cards | Romik Software | 1985 |
Jammin | Enterprise Computers | 1985 |
King of the Castle | Artificial Intelligence | 1985 |
Körmöci Arany | a Studio | 1988 |
Lands of Havoc | Microdeal | 1985 |
Laser | a Studio | 1989 |
Lords of Time | Level 9 Computing | 1984 |
Magic Ball | Boxsoft | 1987 |
Market, The | High Tech Software | 1985 |
Mirror World | Novotrade | 1986 |
Mordon's Quest | John Jones-Steele, Peter Moreland and Peter Donne | 1985 |
Nautilus | Octasoft | 1986 |
Newton almája | Octasoft | 1987 |
Nodes of Yesod | Odin Computer Graphics | 1985 |
Orient Express | Artificial Intelligence | 1985 |
Out of This World | Boxsoft | 1987 |
Pacman | Boxsoft | 1986 |
Permolift | a Studio | 1988 |
Playground (Adventure) | Widgit Software | 1985 |
Poszeidón kincse | Novotrade | 1989 |
R2-D2 | Wave-8 | 1989 |
Rabló Rulett | Novotrade | 1987 |
Race Ace | Artificial Intelligence | 1985 |
Raid (over Moscow) | U.S. Gold | 1985 |
Return to Eden | Level 9 Computing | 1984 |
Reversi, Dáma, Awari | Novotrade | 1987 |
RX-220 | Novotrade | 1989 |
Snowball | Level 9 Computing | 1984 |
Sorcery | Virgin Games | 1985 |
Space Bubble | Infosoft | 1989 |
Space Pirate | Enterprise Computers | 1987 |
Spanish Gold | Chalksoft | 1985 |
Starstrike, 3D | Realtime Software | 1984 |
Steve Davis Snooker | CDS Software | 1985 |
Submarine Commander | Entersoft | 1985 |
Super Pipeline 2 | Enterprise Computers | 1985 |
Tejútvesztő / Labyrinth | Novosoft | |
Tetris | Boxsoft | 1986 |
Tili-toli | Wave-8 | 1989 |
Tombs of Doom | Enterprise Computers | 1985 |
Turbó Rudi | Novotrade | |
Tutti Frutti | Wave-8 | 1988 |
Unicum | Wave-8 | 1988 |
Up & Down | a Studio | 1989 |
Williamsburg Adventure 3 | Microdeal | 1985 |
Wizard's Lair | Bubble Bus | 1985 |
Wordhang | Bourne Educational | 1985 |
Wriggler | Romantic Robot | 1985 |
Enterprise emulators
- Clock Signal for macOS and Linux
- EP128Emu for Windows and Linux
- EP32 for Windows
- JSep - JavaScript Enterprise-128 emulator
References
- ^ Kewney, Guy (November 1983). "Elan vital". Personal Computer World. pp. 114–116. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d Smith, Tony (2013). "Phantom Flan flinger: The story of the Elan Enterprise 128". The Register.
- ^ a b "The Elan Story". Your Computer Magazine. January 1984. pp. 78–80.
- ISSN 0199-6649.
The Enterprise's Z80 runs at a speed of 4 MHz, [...]
- ^ Enterprise Technical Information. Enterprise Computers Ltd. 1984.
- ^ "Enterprise Review". Your Computer. 5 (2): 46–48. February 1985.
- ^ Robinson, Colin (November 1983). "Enterprise out of the ordinary". Design. pp. 62–63. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Enterprise Programming Guide. Enterprise Computers Ltd. 1984.
- ISBN 1-85058-002-2.
The Enterprise 64 Computer ... is one of the few micro computers to implement Full ANSI BASIC
- ^ Lindgren, Pauli. "Mikä Enterprisessa oli vikana?" [What was wrong with Enterprise?]. Printti (in Finnish) (13/1986): 5–6.
- ^ Jones, Meirion (January 1984). "The Elan Story". Your Computer. 4 (1): 78–85.
- ^ ISBN 139907377X.
- ^ "Q&A with Werner Lindner (technical director of the ENTERPRISE Computers GmbH)". enterpriseforever.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ Graham, Adrian (2023). "Enterprise Computers". Binary Dinosaurs.
- ^ "Home". Enterpress News (in Hungarian). Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ "Enterprise Forever - Index". enterpriseforever.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ Enterprise games
External links
- Enterprise Forever forum
- Hungarian page about Enterprise
- Hungarian Enterprise forum
- The German version was apparently called Mephisto PHC 64
- e64 revisited - a game-oriented history of the Enterprise
- 1000BiT in English and in Italian